Nats Medical Director Resigns

Following a year of heavy injuries, Washington Nationals team orthopedist and medical director Ben Shaffer resigned today. He'd been with the club for three years.

I left a message with Shaffer, hoping to talk to him about the move, but I haven't heard back yet. So for now, I'll just leave you with what Shaffer said in a statement released by the Nationals:

Said Shaffer, in the release: "I appreciate the opportunity afforded me to provide care to the Nationals players and organization the last three years. From a time standpoint, this responsibility has required an enormous commitment and I have decided to focus my energies on my family, my practice and the other professional teams I work closely with."

In 2008, almost every significant Nationals position player spent time on the disabled list. A few of those injuries were originally diagnosed as day-to-day problems and proved more serious. Shaffer, when asked late in the season if he saw a common thread in all the ailments, saw bad luck as the only link. "You know, honestly, that's probably what I would attribute it to," Shaffer said. "The injuries don't have much in common."

I've gotta think there is a story behind the story. This one calls for in depth reporting on the part of Chico. Did the Lerners and Shaffer differ in terms of what kinds of treatment or medical staff was necessary for the team? Perhaps what the basic fitness program or training regiment should be? How do the Nats compare to other more established teams in terms of medical and training staff as well as fitness programs? It would be interesting to know, because every year has had way too many injuries. This year, it was a bunch of young guys too.

Jim Bowden and Acta have both said we need a number one so i was thinking that we should sign Ben Sheets or if A.J Burnett opts out of his two year contract and thats almost a 100% chance that happens both of them are very big risks because of there health but thats what we need because when there not hurt thay are two very very good starters plus they will be a little cheaper because of there health its a risk they need to take any opions?

Dr. Shaffer was noticing some strange things happening with the health of the Nationals players over the past three seasons. He started to do a little research and began to realize that the issues went well beyond just the players themselves or bad luck. First, he realized that the Learners were simply too cheap to purchase real vitamins and supplements for the players and have instead been giving them Flintstones vitamins. The next thing he stumbled across was that the strength and conditioning facilities had been sold for scrap metal, so players were no longer lifting weights but instead were told to carry moving boxes between RFK and Nats Park during the offseason. While moving offices, one of the players (who requested anonymity) stumbled across a box of files from JB's office that disclosed that all draft picks since 2004 were drafted simply because of signability even though they all had serious red flags in their medical history. In the same box he also discovered a secret contract between the Reds and JB that agreed to pay him a 10% commission for every dollar of salary that he signs or trades of crappy ex-Reds players. Finally, Dr. Shaffer was forced to resign this week after the Lerner's told him that all surgeries will be postponed and that any future procedures will be performed strictly with leeches.

dr. shaffer was brought in under the mark lerner "friends and family" program. lerner the younger and shaffer are long-time buds and when the earners got the team they dericked the med staff in place, which was affiliated with another hospital to bring in shaffer and his connection with sibley. if friend ben is jumping ship, hopefully jimbow isn't far behind. also agree with anonymous from the previous post. maybe shaffer just got tired of waiting to be paid by the earners.

Bad luck? I'd be interested to see what the Nats players who've been with other clubs think.

I know it's easy to pile on to the doctors and training staff, but the amount of injuries the Nats had this year is so bad that you wonder if each athlete would have been better off on their own.

I guess it would be nice to invest a little here and get a top-notch training staff, starting with the orthopedist and medical director. You save just two players from injuries and you probably earn their paychecks.

Natsscribe
Chico sez Shaffer was with the Nats for three years (i.e., since the team arrived in '05), so he apparently wasn't hired by the Lerners. Shaffer is the team doc for the Caps, which is probably why he was hired in the first place. How do you come to understand that "dr. shaffer was brought in under the mark lerner "friends and family" program. lerner the younger and shaffer are long-time buds and when the earners got the team they dericked the med staff in place, which was affiliated with another hospital to bring in shaffer and his connection with sibley." Right now, it looks like you're just making stuff up. I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.

I'm getting a little bored with all of the current conspiracy theories. Some Nats fan out there must have something new other than the typical LAC, CIL and SOCH arguments. Today should be a slow day at work, I hope that someone out there can come up with some new entertaining idea on why the Nats are drafting #1.

All the changes in Coaching and Medical Staff needed to happen.......Not being ready to name replacements could show a total lack of planning....not good for a team with a PLAN........this off season is starting to look like last year when we fired Bob C and then had to hire him back because nobody better would take a job with the team.......Looking like Tim T might well be back, perhaps like other poorly run organizations, Tim will get a promotion to Bench Coach.......perfect fit for the dysfunctional Lerner organization don't you think?

Hope to hear the full story, but on the surface, this seems like a good thing. Sometimes injuries are just bad luck, but the way they're managed can tell you a lot about a team. Too often this year, we would hear that an injury was day-to-day or short-term and next thing we know, the player is going on the shelf for months or even the whole year. That's not bad luck- that's incompetence on some level. Not laying the blame on this doctor in particular (I doubt he was in charge of the messaging), but hopefully a change here is a step in the right direction.

JayB
You've obviously been hanging with Natsscribe. Where are you getting this stuff about Tolman? Looks like more just makin' stuff up. And BTW, Carpenter wasn't fired after the '07 season; his contract was up. When you have a contract, and it runs out, you're not "fired." That's not what "fired" means. You can look it up.

Dr. Shaffer's resignation is a loss for the team, as he is a well respected orthopedic surgeon. Fortunately, for him, he has enough business where he doesn't need to deal with the dysfunction of the Nats.

On a side note, I found it strange last summer and this year that the Nats outsourced all of the surgeries to other doctors when the team orthopedist is a surgeon himself. WMP, Kearns, Dukes - Dr. Tim Kremchek. Zimmerman - Dr. Richard Barth. Johnson (wrist) - Dr. Richard Berger. Cordero - Dr. Lewis Yocum. Hill - Dr. James Andrews. Though I thought I remembered reading about Shaffer performing a surgery on one of the players, research proved me wrong.

I think they sat Shaffer down to have a serious discussion on why so many guys were getting hurt, why guys who they said were minor injuries ended up being more serious and why guys were taking longer than anticipated to come back from injuries (except Dukes).

Shaffer didn't like being interogated and decided he didn't need this and walked.

We don't need people in this organization who can't take a frank look at their own performance and try to find fault.

Yes Tim T was a joke.....I hope not a poor joke that comes true......Bob was told he was not wanted any more.....OK not fired....then when Stan could not get his top choices to sign with the Nats he was re-hired......THE POINT is the Nats seem to be falling into a pattern of not having new hires set up before firing....or not resigning old staff.....Coaches are good example......Larkin turned down a job and now they are still looking.....This does not seem to be the way you would want to hire the BEST PEOPLE for a WORLD CLASS Organization......as promised by Stan in 2006.

"People are going to say what they want to say about me, but I'm not a corner guy. I'm definitely a premier center fielder as long as I get the opportunity and get my repetitions." - Lastings Milledge to Ladson

This is why we lost 102 games....No sense of reality among players and no coaches telling them the truth.......Lastings is not a CF and never will be, yet nobody has the guts to tell him. What a team!

Here's hoping we decide to revamp the whole medical system and put in place a cutting-edge prevention/training program like the Red Sox's collaboration with Dr. Andrews. But that would likely be expensive, so I won't hold my breath.

Re Schaffer's focusing on "other professional teams," was this part of the problem? Is it common for doctors to be medical directors or have other responsibilities for more than one professional sports franchise, along with (presumably) maintaining thriving private practices? Given the Nationals' mind-boggling number and variety of injuries, and the questionable diagnoses in some cases, it would be reassuring to know that our medical director was devoting sufficient attention to the Nationals.

Dr. Shaffer is an orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in knees and shoulders, not a medical director or generalist or a training program implementor or a Physical therapy specialist. (Disclosure: he did surgeries on both my knees in 2003). He's a great guy, good surgeon with a good reputation.

My guess is that the continued over-ruling of his opinions by players going to the Reds doctor, Andrews and the like grew tiresome. Why be involved if he never gets to do the surgeries? He also couldn't be happy getting the blame for bad ongoing physical therapy methods leading to continued injuries all season.

Switching gears... With the emergence of Michael Cudyer, Denard Spann, and Carlos Gomez the Twins may be looking to move Delmon Young. I imagine it would take quite a bit to get Young but do you think the Nats are considering it. They have young pitching to create a package that the twins might be interested in and have shown a pension for picking up "troubled talent." Additionally the Nats already have Delmon's older brother Dimitri who could help keep Delmon happy and in line. Think about the talent of an outfield featuring Young, Milledge and Dukes. All are potential allstars on the field if they can keep distraction away off the field. I for one, would love this move.

I also think the Nats should take a look as Shane Victorino of the Phils who is growing lonely in an outfield that is starting to feature Jason Werth. If the Phils either re-up with Burrell or find another outfielder in free agency, Victorino could be expendable. He would fill the need for an excellent defender in center and a leadoff man.

Both of these players would be excellent additions to the Nats roster although they both would require a solid return. The phils also might not want to trade in the division but since its the offseason and the Nats are nowhere near contention they may consider it.

I don't think that there's any way that Victorino gets traded by the Phillies. He plays center field, and Burrell and Werth play left and right, respectively. Neither of them can play center, and so his job isn't in jeopardy or crowded as a result.

Moreover, given the events of the postseason, Victorino is a bit of a firecracker and jumpstarter for the Phillies, not to mention a clutch bat. He had 102 runs, 14 HR, and 58 RBI this year, not bad numbers at all for someone who was thought only to be a stolen-base threat (and he had 36 of those, to boot). All of that with a .293 average, which isn't much to sneeze at.

Regardless of all that, I'm not sure that they have depth at CF. Victorino's backup is So Taguchi, who doesn't exactly strike fear into the hearts of many pitchers.

I haven't heard any victorino rumors since midseason but I thought i'd stir up discussion just in case. Werth has played left, right, and center and is thought to be well suited for any outfield spot. Victorino however, is thought to be the superior defender.

And why do you think that? Based on what?
Unnamed sources? "Speculation"?

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I think they sat Shaffer down to have a serious discussion on why so many guys were getting hurt, why guys who they said were minor injuries ended up being more serious and why guys were taking longer than anticipated to come back from injuries (except Dukes).

Shaffer didn't like being interogated and decided he didn't need this and walked.
...
Posted by: estuartj | October 15, 2008 10:34 AM

With the emergence of Michael Cudyer, Denard Spann, and Carlos Gomez the Twins may be looking to move Delmon Young. I imagine it would take quite a bit to get Young but do you think the Nats are considering it. They have young pitching to create a package that the twins might be interested in and have shown a pension for picking up "troubled talent." Additionally the Nats already have Delmon's older brother Dimitri who could help keep Delmon happy and in line. Think about the talent of an outfield featuring Young, Milledge and Dukes. All are potential allstars on the field if they can keep distraction away off the field. I for one, would love this move.

Thoughts?

Posted by: VT Nats Fan | October 15, 2008 1:26 PM
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Just one, VT Fan. An outfield of Young, Milledge and Dukes would only work if the Nats could get the Vick Brothers to be their spiritual advisors.

As Tom Servo points out, the Lerner's didn't own the team between the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
But what I want to know is, what does "dericked" mean?

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I have never been able to find out what happened with their ortho from 2005, Dr. Wiemi Douoguih.
Posted by: CE | October 14, 2008 11:42 PM
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@CE
dr. shaffer was brought in under the mark lerner "friends and family" program. lerner the younger and shaffer are long-time buds and when the earners got the team they dericked the med staff in place, which was affiliated with another hospital to bring in shaffer and his connection with sibley. if friend ben is jumping ship, hopefully jimbow isn't far behind. also agree with anonymous from the previous post. maybe shaffer just got tired of waiting to be paid by the earners.

I wanted Delmon instead of Dukes last year, but I wonder about the Vicks Brothers reference (cough drops -> Chokers?)

What? Oh. VICK.
Nevermind.

Speaking of brothers:
http://tinyurl.com/3kq6hd
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[re: Delmon Young]
Thoughts?
Posted by: VT Nats Fan | October 15, 2008 1:26 PM
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Just one, VT Fan. An outfield of Young, Milledge and Dukes would only work if the Nats could get the Vick Brothers to be their spiritual advisors.

"Coaches are good example......Larkin turned down a job and now they are still looking.....This does not seem to be the way you would want to hire the BEST PEOPLE for a WORLD CLASS Organization......as promised by Stan in 2006."

Since coaching contracts typically run until the end of the World Series, and since anti-tampering rules prohibit teams from talking with coaches while they are under contract in another organization, it would be impossible for the Nationals to have already lined up replacements for the coaches they fired at the end of September, unless of course they wanted to limit themselves to hiring replacements from within their own organization. And imagine the outcry there would have been from you and everyone else here if they'd done that.

Dr Ben is easily the most sought after orthopedic in the dc area. His reputation as a doctor is sterling and, as mentioned, he is a great guy. The caps players love him and trust him. The nats subbed out many of the procedures to other docs and I'm sure Ben grew tired of this and other unprofessional parts of this shoddy franchise. Most people would like to be able to leave a job where they are not able to do the job they were brought in to do in the first place. But most people are not also the team doc for the best team in town while also heading up the top private practice as well. Can't blame him for leaving....

Does anybody really believe that the players will suffer less injuries and play better because the team doc moved on ? Perhaps the post or some other know-it-all could find a patient that was not happy with Ben's work ? good luck with that..

Several other team have hired coaches already so I am not sure I buy the argument. Yost is not under any contract, nor is Willie Randoff.......I do not think either is going to get a Manager Job again before they cycle through bench and base coach jobs.......

"Yost is not under any contract, nor is Willie Randoff.......I do not think either is going to get a Manager Job again before they cycle through bench and base coach jobs......."

Maybe not. But they're not going to settle for a coaching position until they exhaust all possible opportunities to manage next season either. Why should the Nationals automatically grab up other teams' castaways now just so they'll have someoneone under contract, rather than wait until after the World Series when they can talk to everyone out there, even those who are currently under contact to other teams? When they've done the bottom-feeding, hire-the-castoffs thing with players you've decried it. So why are you advocating that they do it with coaches?

Dr. Shaffer is an orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in knees and shoulders, not a medical director or generalist or a training program implementor or a Physical therapy specialist. (Disclosure: he did surgeries on both my knees in 2003). He's a great guy, good surgeon with a good reputation.

My guess is that the continued over-ruling of his opinions by players going to the Reds doctor, Andrews and the like grew tiresome. Why be involved if he never gets to do the surgeries? He also couldn't be happy getting the blame for bad ongoing physical therapy methods leading to continued injuries all season.

Here Here! I'd also like to point out that being the team orthopedist and medical director doesn't mean that he was (or was supposed to be) in the locker room or in the dugout every game, icing shoulders, running the whirlpool, etc. He was the team orthopedist, not trainer. He diagnosed injuries and should have been performing the shoulder surgeries too.

The Washington Nationals today announced that outfielder Ryan Langerhans and right-handed pitcher Lavale Speigner cleared waivers and were outrighted to Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. The Nationals also announced that left-handed pitcher Charlie Manning was claimed off waivers by the St. Louis Cardinals. Nationals Senior Vice President and General Manager Jim Bowden made these announcements.

The Nationals now have 36 players on their 40-man roster, not including five players on the 60-Day Disabled List.

Unfortunately I find myself agreeing that the lack of activity in the international market, coupled with the bungled, cheap draft, is further evidence that The Plan, to the extent that it actually exists, is being executed imperfectly.

And I find myself wondering if the Nationals will hire a replacement for Shaffer.

As +.5St said in the last thread, I'm sure I will come around in the offseason, but it sure would help if the team took a series of positive steps, both on and off the field, to improve the product.

Settle with the city, finish the stadium, pay the rent, and announce some fan-friendly improvements for 2009.

Hire a PR firm to develop a state-of-the-art marketing plan and implement it throughout the region. Kick it off with a well conceived, well organized, well funded fanfest.

Hire a well-respected hitting coach.

Re-sign Willie Harris.

Be a player in the Teixeira, Sabathia, Sheets, and Burnett negotiations, even if they all end up somewhere else. For example, offer Soriano dollars to Tex.

Offer Zimmerman something between Tulo money and David Wright money and see if he takes it.

Pull off a trade that surprises us, whether it's by getting one key piece (e.g., a Delmon Young, or a Dan Uggla) or several prospects with potential (e.g., in a Spring Training deal that sends a healthy Dmitri Young off to DH for an AL team in exchange for a AA player).

Natsscribe
OK. Got it.
So who was the Nats team doc up to the time that Lerners took over?
If Shaffer is teh bomb (and I have no knowledge on this point), why did the Nats keep sending their players elsewhere for treatment? If he was too busy with other patients to treat them, the Nats should be looking for a new team doc. If not, then I have to say it sounds like a pretty sweet gig to me.

From Dave S chat today......" I've got people coming up to me left and right this postseason -- media, officials of other teams, agents, etc. -- telling me what a mess the Nationals look like from their perspective, and asking me what I think is going to happen there."

Just more unnamed sources that should be ignored or at some point is the tide just too strong to swim against......Not every national media type has the same unreliable sources.....no amount of dismissive talk will change the fact that unnamed, but likely very knowledgeable baseball people see big problems with the Nats and their execution of a Plan.

"no amount of dismissive talk will change the fact that unnamed, but likely very knowledgeable baseball people see big problems with the Nats and their execution of a Plan."

I'm surprised Sheinin didn't answer those comments with this: "In my MLB Sunday column on July 20th, I listed ten things the Nats should do before the end of the season to turn things around. Guess what? They did four of them and still lost 102 games. Which of the six other bits of advice I gave them were the ones they should have done, the ones that would have made a difference?

1. Sign Barry Bonds. (ed: You gotta be kidding.)
4. Name Zimmerman captain. (ed: Why? So he can put up Jason Varitek numbers?)
5. Sign a couple of your top five draft picks, including Aaron Crow. (ed: So they got four of five, all but Crow. Crow may be good - or he may well be a bust - but either way is he the one guy who would save this franchise?)
6. Promise to raise payroll. (ed: Note that Sheinin apparently doesn't think they actually need to KEEP the promise, just that they should make it. O-kay...)
8. Pick up Manny Acta's second option year. (ed: That will satisfy JayB, but what about the rest of us?)
10. Get rid of that guy who looks like Seacrest. (ed: That would be Clint. Can I get an AMEN on that, please?)"

Are you all kidding...There may be a lot of things to bash about this team, but players getting a 2nd opinion from James Andrews or having him or another specialist preform a surgery are you kidding? Do you know who James Andrew is? Have you heard an interview with him? He has stated he has a relationship with all 32 NFL teams and well as most of the NBA and MLB ones. Major problems go to him from most teams. Plus even the best orthopods have specialties..ie a wrist and hand guy is not the best choice for a knee or elbow or whatever. This is crazy talk.